Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Action Figure Review: Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite by NECA

Even if you haven't played the video game Bioshock Infinite, just
thinking about it most likely brings to mind the beautiful character
Elizabeth. I guarantee that at the end of the year, she'll still be the
most iconic character to come out of any video game. Generbeener went
into great detail on one of our podcasts about the painstaking depths
that Irrational Games went to to ensure that Elizabeth was neither just
another pretty face nor an annoyance to the player, but a fully
developed character in the story and an important partner to the
player. While I have yet to play Bioshock Infinite (I'm
fighting myself to finish this review rather than run off to the store
to pick it up), I knew immediately that I was going to pick up
Elizabeth. While I certainly am more likely to buy action figures from
properties that I know and love, I'm also willing to pick up a figure
just because it's a well done action figure. So while I have little to
no knowledge about Elizabeth's role in Bioshock Infinite, here's my look at the amazing figure NECA has released. Enjoy!
Elizabeth is right around 6 and 1/4 inches tall, so my guess is
that she's in a 7 inch scale and just a little on the short side. While
NECA's movie lines (they call them "Reel Toys") are typically done in a
very realistic style, NECA video game action figures typically reflect
the style of the source material. While Elizabeth could probably stand
alongside most of your movie figures and not look too out of place,
there is just a bit of stylization to her that reflects her video game
appearance. Notice that the eyes that are just a little larger than
normal and you'll get what I'm saying. She doesn't come with any
accessories, but does have an actual cloth dress, something rather
unusual in this scale.

The dress flows very naturally and looks great in this scale.

Typically, action figures of women in dresses are not highly
articulated. That's not the case here and I don't think most folks are
going to have a problem with Elizabeth's articulation. She has: swivel
ankles, ball jointed knees, ball jointed thighs, ball jointed abdomen,
ball jointed shoulders, ball jointed elbows, swivel wrists, and a ball
jointed head. While the elbow joints might be a bit stuck at first
because of the paint, all of the other joints work beautifully. I only
had one problem and it's not really a QC issue, but more carelessness on
my part: I thought that Elizabeth was articulated at the cuffs of her
dress sleeves and not at her actual wrist, so when turning there that
part of the figure popped right off. It's actually a separate piece that
was just glued on and was easily glued back. The cloth dress and the
soft rubber corset hinder articulation little, which is always a plus.

Look at the picture and you can see the freckles, details on her necklace, and some details of the corset.

Elizabeth's sculpt is excellent. It is a fantastic representation
of the character from the game and captures her simple yet captivating
beauty. I love the face sculpt, as it seems to capture Elizabeth with
an expression that could be right on the verge of a number of emotions.
The hair looks good, the necklace looks good, and the corset looks
fantastic. The details in it are really, really nice and extremely
detailed. Underneath Elizabeth's skirt, NECA sculpted a nice set of
bloomers and some really cute boots. Oh, and want to talk about
attention to detail on NECA's part? Check out Elizabeth's right hand,
most specifically the pinkie finger. Yup, it's missing. Play the game
to find out why!

Notice the missing pinkie? Good attention to detail, NECA.

The paintwork manages to take the excellent sculpt and accent it
perfectly. Elizabeth's face features some really gorgeous details that
aren't really even noticeable until you're looking at her in hand or in a
picture that's larger than the actual figure. Notice the freckles,
subtle lip colors, and the different colors used in her eyes. Also,
check out the little detail on Elizabeth's choker. It's really neat and
clean, especially for being so small. While everything else is solid,
it's mostly by the numbers. The corset does have a nice wash to it,
though, which helps to bring out the details. The best thing I can say
about this figure' paintwork is that when a figure's paint job looks
just as good in a larger photo as it does in hand, that's mighty fine
work indeed.

I mentioned above that Elizabeth has no accessories. That's
probably my only strike against this figure. NECA excels at making cool
accessories, so it's a shame that they couldn't figure out something
for Elizabeth to hold, or even some element that was just a cool item
from the game. Perhaps it is due to the cost of the dress? I mentioned
above that Elizabeth actually has a cloth dress, something that isn't
typically seen on figures in the 6-7 inch scale and often has mixed
results in regards to execution. I'm happy to say that this isn't the
case with Elizabeth's dress. It looks perfect. It's just the tiniest bit
shiny, very much like velvet. Heck, it might be velvet (I review toys,
not sewing materials) as it has a bit of "stretch" to it. NECA
certainly made the right choice here, as Elizabeth's dress is extremely
eye catching. She'll make all of your other female action figures
jealous, believe me.

Elizabeth is a girl in a blue dress. Having has no gun, swords, or
knives and being fully clothed, she's definitely an atypical female
action, and yet she still manages to be excellent and exciting. Perhaps
it's the excellent head sculpt? She comes across as just a bit
mysterious, but also resilient and resourceful. I can't say much about
her character because I haven't played Bioshock Infinite, but I
can say that NECA has released an extremely solid figure. While I wish
she came with some accessory, there's no denying that her paint, sculpt,
and articulation are all well done. I'm now more anxious than ever to
play the game and learn who Elizabeth is. For those of you who have
played the game and now want to know if this figure is a worthy addition
to your video game figures shelf, the answer is yes. I'm rating her a
great and a 1/2.

2 comments:

She's an absolutely beautiful figure. I do feel her head is maybe a little on the big side, and because of her small feet, she doesn't stand too well on her own. But now with a Booker figure to go with her, they make a fantastic pair!